Apologies and Cheer

Please accept my apologies for my last post. The quality reflected my demeanor at the time and it was noted it was not one of my better attempts (even Mr Moneymaker stated it was the worst blog post he had ever read - luckily he hasn't read my early work).  I promise not to expose you to that twaddle again. Hopefully.

And now for something completely different.... a little song to cheer this chilly, wet day by a couple of my favourite TV characters from Scrubs:

"Baby Its Cold Outside" - Zach & Donald Holiday Video

I have no idea why its cold outside, its friggin' November!  Which brings me to my next point - it's friggin' Christmas in four weeks!!!!  How did that happen?  By this time last year I had done half the shopping already, both online and in the shops.  When I realised how close it was today, I pulled out last year's spreadsheet to start filling in my list and checking it twice.

But then I got distracted.  I saw one of the first Christmas themed shows tonight, "The Living Room", which showed the typical styling tips for classy Christmas tables, one colourful contemporary and one vintage elegant.  Nice, but its not going to happen in this house.  I'm not that obsessed.  But I started thinking it would be nice to have a Christmas Eve Dinner Party with a few close friends before the big day with the big family.  And it would be nice to make the place look a little classy, like I give a damn.  Which I really do, but as soon as I start attempting to 'style', something just doesn't go right and I stick with the basics.

But then there's always Pinterest.

You can totally lose yourself in that place.  Type any subject and you'll think all your Christmases have come at once. Literally!

a fraction of what you can find on Pinterest

The other great thing about Christmas is the socialising.  And I'll be starting the celebrations as soon as tomorrow.  The yearly Christmas Workshop with Penny and Working Mums Masterclass is on and I've always tried to attend every one of them.  There's always lovely people and lovely things, and a great chance to see my bloggy friends.  Presenters include the very smart Kylie Ofiu, the very sassy Gemma King and the very statuesque Penny Webb herself.

So as soon as I watch my daughter smash her way through her basketball finals tomorrow morning, I will be hoofing it off to Lane Cove for an afternoon of mood boarding, tip collecting and getting that Christmas feeling and hopefully getting inspired.

Have you started preparing for the big red suited visitor?

*Joining up to With Some Grace for #FYBF*

Mess Makeover

Wanted: Great, cheap and classy ideas needed to do over this space so it can house garage stuff and be an inviting rumpus room for my bedroom-stealing kids.

Or: how do I turn a garage into a tween/teen haven so they don't mess up MY room!

I shouldn't complain - we live in a lovely home, plenty of room to move in the living area but as our last place had a second lounge room where the kids liked to hang out, we are missing that luxury of locking them away to watch their Miley and iCarly or do whatever you do with Skylanders.

The other advantages of kids having their own time-out space are:

• I won't find the equivalent of seven Salada's crumbed through my bed after they've watched the whole DVD box set of Harry Potter
• They won't stop me from going to bed at 7.30pm on a Friday night to watch The Living Room alone with my laptop
• They won't find my secret stash of really nice chocolate as opposed to the cheap shit I buy them
• I won't have to call them out of bed after they've watched a DVD in my bedroom and I can't work out how to turn the digital TV back on
• I won't have to clean up the Slurpee cups and bowls of leftover noodles the next morning from my bedroom
• I can shut the door on the garage and ignore whatever catastrophe has taken place from last night's sleepover

plus many more ....

Factors that I have take into account are I cannot sew, my budget is probably around $50 (unless I can sell that spare fridge - anyone?) and my husband is as handy as ... as .... well he's not.  To be as organised as my beautiful friend Gemma (look at her Lady Shed) would be wonderful.  I know I probably won't end up with anything as awesome as this but I would really like it to be inviting.

from here

I have also been told that the lawnmower HAS to stay (as the last time I insisted it it live outside it got sick and cost a bit to fix) and the bikes need to live in the garage as well.

Now I'm very open to suggestions and tips and would love an excuse to visit the great land of Ikea.  I might also be able to convince Mr Moneymaker to stretch the budget for some sort of floor covering like carpet tiles as it can get pretty cold with that concrete floor.

The fake leather futon couch could do with recovering too but I have no idea how to do this.  There is also a very handy shelf/desk which props up on the far side of the garage which is folded away behind the couch.  It takes up a bit of room so we keep it down until needed.  The built in bookcase next to the under-stair storage is handy but very drab and wearing away in places. And the giant panda had to be kept as it was bought by Mr Moneymaker's Pop just before he died and was meant for Jess, his first great grandchild.  Trouble is it so large it won't fit in the shelves near the garage ceiling or under the stairs.

Of the many rumpus rooms on Pinterest, I picked this one as its the most unattainable:

Dream on! (from here)

So give me any tips, bargains, ideas or your own makeovers and when I do my 'After' shots I'll give you due credit.

With the best intentions ...

*Linking up with With Some Grace FYBF*

It's the beginning of February and there's so much I want to achieve, improve and create this year so I need to get myself organised.  This means going against my natural instinct and get myself 'scheduled'! I've got a lovely new blue planner from InnerB which should help me enormously. I've signed up with a team at work for a health challenge and I'm booked into the DPCON13 in March.  Nothing should stop me now!!!

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With the best intentions I boot up the MacBook almost every night determined to write a post that will entertain or inspire or amuse or at least provide something interesting to read for someone!

With the best intentions I start to wade through junk emails to find those gems that will inspire or motivate me to jump into action.

With the best intentions I pour a glass of wine to relax my brain from another hectic week of work, kids, house and the detritus of life.

With the best of intentions I vow that from this day on I will promise myself to eat better and move more before my bones solidify in a sitting position.

With the best intentions I pour over wonderful interior design magazines and blogs so I can create a home of comfort and style.

With the best intentions I cruise through Pinterest for oohs and aaahs and I wish's ..... (oops, just flicked over there and got lost in My Big Nutshell!) um, so I can create beautiful things too.

With the best intentions.